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Alex's CFL Tuesday Takes – May 15, 2018

We in Saskatchewan have used #ThankYouDarian many times before, namely after the 2013 Grey Cup winning season and then when he was traded to Montreal at the beginning of 2017, to honour his time with the Riders. But after his retirement this past weekend and sticking it to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, #ThankYouDarian took on a new meaning.

So, #ThankYouDarian for sticking to the Bombers one last time. They couldn't beat you when you played with the Riders and you beat them yet again. And in the world of a salary cap, this is a double whammy. Good on you Darian, enjoy your post football life. And keep talking smack to fans on Twitter. That was great!

Mount Rushmore

I mentioned that Durant goes on my Mount Rushmore of Rider heroes. So if we are going for 4 players, obviously Ron Lancaster and George Reed are there, Darian Durant goes on mine and my other Rider hero is Don Narcisse, especially after being able to speak with him often in the last few months. Sorry Dennis Gile, even though I was once President of your official fan club, you got bumped off my Mount Rushmore.

Lin-J Shell is a hero!

Former Calgary Stampeders DB is a Phys. Ed teacher in Florida and took down a woman who had a gun during a brawl at the school and possibly saved the lives of dozens of children. The world needs more people like Lin-J Shell.

No more weekends without football!

We made it! This past weekend was the FINAL week of the year without some sort of REAL football news! Rookie Camps and Training Camps get underway right away and we are less than 2 weeks away from the first preseason game! Forget December 25th... THIS is the real Christmas!

Can't wait for all the practice reports that say the offense was great, the defense was great, everyone was great! /sarcasm

I DO appreciate practice reports, especially for Training Camp when I can't be there, but they tend to be the most homer things out there. Your O and D both can't be great when they are facing each other. If the O was great, the D sucked and vice versa. I know people want to love EVERY player on the team and that's cool, but it's definitely still okay to say when a player has a bad day/can't keep up with the rest.

Farewell Geronimo

In the spirit of retirements, we also say farewell to one more. Future Hall of Famer Nik Lewis announced his official retirement and as much as he tormented my Riders and fan bases gave him the gears for getting bigger throughout the years, he just kept producing and he really was something special to watch.

I went to the Riders preseason game in 2005 in Calgary, the year after Nik Lewis won Rookie of the Year and I ended up having a drink at the hotel with Nik's father. The one thing I will always remember about our chat was as I was saying goodbye, I said congrats on having a Rookie of the Year son. Mr. Lewis chuckled, said thank you and then said “if he can ever learn to shut his damn mouth, he'll be a hall of fame player someday”. Well, Mr. Lewis, you got half of that right!

Congrats on a great career Nik!

*** Don't forget to enter the 2018 Piffles Podcast Fan Contest! Running all season, we want to hear more about YOU, the GREAT Rider fans! What does Rider Pride mean to you? How did you become a fan? Who's your favourite player? We would like to ask you these questions and more and share your story with ALL of Rider Nation! We have over $2,500 in prizes to give away and we would love to learn more about the passionate fans that make up Riderville! To enter, fill out the questionaire and you are qualified! 20 Weekly Winners will be drawn throughout the season and EVERYONE that enters is put into the Grand Prize Draw to be made during the final week of the CFL regular season! ***

*** Piffles Podcast is heading to the Banjo Bowl! Join us on the trip and let's paint Winnipeg green! We will leave the Saturday morning of the game, tailgate at IGF for a little bit, watch the Riders beat the Bombers and then we will stay overnight in Winnipeg and come back to Regina on Sunday afternoon. ONLY A COUPLE OF TICKETS REMAINING!! If this is of interest to you, let us know ASAP!

It promises to be a fun time and we have some great prizes lined up to giveaway ***

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